Derby Talk

Derby Talk is a forum for Pinewood Derby, Awana Grand Prix, Kub Kar Rally, Shape N Race Derby, Space Derby, Raingutter Regatta and other similar races where a child and an adult work together to create a race vehicle and a lot of fun and memories

I would like to receive the complete (less personally identifying information) heat-by-heat detail data from your PW races, especially those which are highly competitive, i.e. close. To facilitate use in other software and to make it easier to strip personally identifying information, I would like to receive the data in CSV (comma separated values?) format.

I understand that software like GPRM can easily export such data in CSV format.

The data will be used to test some hypotheses regarding competition models. Third party statistical analysis will be involved, so excluding personally identifying information is important.

Just sent you five years of data in CSV format, heat by heat with lane information, times, finish order, etc.

We strip personally identifiable information from race results and publish to our Pack website each year, so the data is already set to go.

When I first started doing this three years ago, it was because two dads asked for the data file. After stripping the PI info, I published to our website and did not have a chance to notify anyone. I did not want to make a big deal out of it, and would see both of those dads in another two days.

Much to my surprise, a completely different dad with whom I had never spoken emailed me 4 hours later with data analysis, graphs and histograms of the race results! So the tradition began. We've had a six-sigma guy take apart the data looking for lane bias as well as other insights.

Our local council refuses to provide race results, but there is an extremely well produced video we've bought each year which contains - among other things - complete race results data. Stan: if you think extracting race results from a PDF takes time, try from a DVD video!!! Um, no thanks!